You are being generous.

there is no question the swagger is gone at the moment and that is everything to offensive players.

When that happens though, the way out of it is to put in the effort and play some defense, like Ottawa does.

The Leafs are not willing to pay that price, and they appear to lose their steam as soon as the inevitable softie or two goes in,

They are still supposed to be in a rebuilding year, but there is no excuse for poor effort. There are some passengers on this team that, thankfully, will not be there next season.
- Aetherial

I admit that I don't watch the leafs play, other than when they play the Senators ....... but I do catch the highlights most days ............. and just wondering if I'm seeing a lot of goals going in on Andersen, high gloveside, and not just last night?

theyre not playing their best hockey right now to say the least. i too felt luck/breaks werent on their side but they got out played and out scored when it mattered. if they dont shape up and get their offense clicking earlier in games, next week could be a long one for us leaf fans.
- systemtool

I'm not going to argue with your opinion, but why is it that I keep hearing that it's team defense that the leafs need to work on, not their offense?

BTW ........ the Belleville Senators were in action last night and won in OT.

I'm not going to argue with your opinion, but why is it that I keep hearing that it's team defense that the leafs need to work on, not their offense?
- D0PPELGANGER

Yes high glove side appears to be the book on Andersen. If he works on that they will shift to targeting high stick side. But, every goalie can be beaten high if the D allows clean shots in the attack zone.

BTW ........ the Belleville Senators were in action last night and won in OT.
- D0PPELGANGER

yes, i notice Chabot did not play last night or game before

LEAFs are 4.20 in GAA in last 5 games. not good!

I'm not going to argue with your opinion, but why is it that I keep hearing that it's team defense that the leafs need to work on, not their offense?
- D0PPELGANGER

im not sure i get what youre saying. their offense is one of the best in the league if not the best. its just that with their style of play it benefits them greatly to get the early lead so teams dont clog the neutral zone all game. getting the opponent down early opens up the game for them.

Boucher: Wow what an effort
Sens coach Guy Boucher gives his postgame thoughts after a 5-4 SO loss to The Devils

That is the TSN headline after Sens lose shootout in New Jersey.

Contrast that with the repeated comments after almost every game by Babcock, "we got outworked." Coaches see it before the fans.

Is Karlsson the best captain in hockey. Perhaps not. Until he wins a Stanley Cup the title has to be shared by Crosby and Toews.

But, you need to know every guy in the Ottawa dressing room knows that if Karlsson can suck it up and play three rounds of the playoffs on one leg and dominate; they can persevere and get beyond a few injuries and the challenges of a little flu going through the team.

Great stuff!

im not sure i get what youre saying. their offense is one of the best in the league if not the best. its just that with their style of play it benefits them greatly to get the early lead so teams dont clog the neutral zone all game. getting the opponent down early opens up the game for them.
- systemtool

Really. And, what do you do when the opposing team scores early. Do you open it up to catch up faster. And, if it goes to 2-0 do have all Dmen join the attack. What kind of hockey is that? Babcock is sick of it and rightly so!

Really. And, what do you do when the opposing team scores early. Do you open it up to catch up faster. And, if it goes to 2-0 do have all Dmen join the attack. What kind of hockey is that. Babcock is sick of it and rightly so!
- spatso

im not the coach. im not a player.

but yes teams that are trailing have to at some point open it up to try and win the game. trying to force a goal to catch up can often lead to mistakes.

i really didnt feel i needed to explain this to a grown man who follows sports. babcock is the coach and a damn good one. hell get this team right like he did last season which was worse than this one to start.

hes ultimately the guy who dictates how the team plays. hes not a third party observer.

i know youre excited the last handful of games have gone the way you want but its not going to stay this way and the first batch of games should serve as a reminder.

yes the leafs 21 goals against the past 5 games is awful but the sens 18 in their last 5 is hardly worthy of much less criticism.

im not the coach. im not a player.

but yes teams that are trailing have to at some point open it up to try and win the game. trying to force a goal to catch up can often lead to mistakes.

i really didnt feel i needed to explain this to a grown man who follows sports.
- systemtool

I think some of the players follow your advice and that is what is driving Babcock to distraction. When a team scores a first goal they double down on their defensive responsibilities. If the other team opens up they risk going down to a second goal. If a team believes in their systems they do not open up the way the Leafs have been doing over the last few games.

When the Leafs play their game (e.g. against slower teams like Washington and LA) they are fine. But when they get caught up in the speed game against teams like Ottawa, Carolina, Jersey and Philadelphia they have been burned.

The Leafs do not have enough on the back end to try skating against faster teams. Their forwards are quick enough but their D is not nearly strong enough to cope with the rush coming back. Babcock is very angry and rightly so.

I think some of the players follow your advice and that is what is driving Babcock to distraction. When a team scores a first goal they double down on their defensive responsibilities. If the other team opens up they risk going down to a second goal. If a team believes in their systems they do not open up the way the Leafs have been doing over the last few games.

When the Leafs play their game (e.g. against slower teams like Washington and LA) they are fine. But when they get caught up in the speed game against teams like Ottawa, Carolina, Jersey and Philadelphia they have been burned.

The Leafs do not have enough on the back end to try skating against faster teams. Their forwards are quick enough but their D is not nearly strong enough to cope with the rush coming back. Babcock is very angry and rightly so.
- spatso

its not my advice. its my observation.

im not here to tell nhl players and nhl coach how to do their jobs when ive never been in their position myself.

im curious why you left out 5 teams they beat. jets, hawks, rangers, habs, wings. aside from the wings perhaps the rest are not slow teams. i have an idea why they weren't mentioned.

seems almost like the leafs saw ottawa, nj, carolina and philly and thought easy wins. then they looked at hawks caps kings rangers and played those teams harder. its not right but they have to start respecting the lower thought of teams.

ottawa is older and slower than the Leafs. you know this too. dont be silly now. you're getting carried away.

in the end its the same. the leafs have to play alot better than the last handful of games. theyve proven they can do it. they need to get back to playing their high tempo game.

its not my advice. its my observation.

im not here to tell nhl players and nhl coach how to do their jobs when ive never been in their position myself.

im curious why you left out 5 teams they beat. jets, hawks, rangers, habs, wings. aside from the wings perhaps the rest are not slow teams. i have an idea why they weren't mentioned.

seems almost like the leafs saw ottawa, nj, carolina and philly and thought easy wins. then they looked at hawks caps kings rangers and played those teams harder. its not right but they have to start respecting the lower thought of teams.

ottawa is older and slower than the Leafs. you know this too. dont be silly now. you're getting carried away.

in the end its the same. the leafs have to play alot better than the last handful of games. theyve proven they can do it. they need to get back to playing their high tempo game.
- systemtool

The teams I cited are the teams that ripped the Leafs over the past few weeks.

Speed in hockey is an illusive concept. It is partly about how fast skaters can skate. But, that is not nearly as important as how fast a team can play (think and move the puck). Last year you saw Pittsburgh and Ottawa put on a huge speed show in the playoffs. The simple part is how fast Karlsson, Hoffman, Dzingle and Turris skate. The more complex is how fast they move the puck from one end of the ice to the other and skating is just one part of the equation. It also includes how quickly team can resume its defensive posture once an attack has stalled.

So, on the second part it is important to understand that it is part of the speed equation when you see Marner dogging it when coming back into his own end. The truly great players (Crosby) skate as hard or harder coming back than they do on the attack. This, I believe, is what is driving Babcock in his frustration and his comments about being outworked.

The teams I cited are the teams that ripped the Leafs over the past few weeks.

Speed in hockey is an illusive concept. It is partly about how fast skaters can skate. But, that is not nearly as important as how fast a team can play (think and move the puck). Last year you saw Pittsburgh and Ottawa put on a huge speed show in the playoffs. The simple part is how fast Karlsson, Hoffman, Dzingle and Turris skate. The more complex is how fast they move the puck from one end of the ice to the other and skating is just one part of the equation. It also includes how quickly team can resume its defensive posture once an attack has stalled.

So, on the second part it is important to understand that it is part of the speed equation when you see Marner dogging it when coming back into his own end. The truly great players (Crosby) skate as hard or harder coming back than they do on the attack. This, I believe, is what is driving Babcock in his frustration and his comments about being outworked.
- spatso

youre focusing on marner and ignoring Matthews. makes little sense.

youre in the minority if you think the leafs cant play a speed game.

anyways enjoy this stretch. youre on cloud nine right now. i get it.

"With a 4-2 loss to the Flyers on Saturday, the Leafs dropped their second game in a row. As Kristen Shilton writes, it wasn’t a lack of compete that did Toronto in, but the tightening of the league stifling their once seemingly unstoppable offence, putting an end to what Mike Babcock called a "fantasy tour".

"With a 4-2 loss to the Flyers on Saturday, the Leafs dropped their second game in a row. As Kristen Shilton writes, it wasn’t a lack of compete that did Toronto in, but the tightening of the league stifling their once seemingly unstoppable offence, putting an end to what Mike Babcock called a "fantasy tour".
- spatso

you're loving this. oh well. have at it.

what goes around comes around.

glad to see youre not busy and your internet works. bell just called me. they said my service should have been interupted before 10pm last night so theyre going to do it now by accident.

you're loving this. oh well. have at it.

what goes around comes around.

glad to see youre not busy and your internet works. bell just called me. they said my service should have been interupted before 10pm last night so theyre going to do it now by accident.
- systemtool

Good service here. We are in Raleigh NC for a few days before heading on to Florida.

I find it funny to read the Toronto Star this morning and the reporters are talking about what we were saying here two weeks ago about the Leafs inadequate 200' game.

Babcock is saying to everyone "I told you so." There is no easy fix to this kind of problem. The Leafs are not nearly as good as they seemed in a few games at the very start of the season. They are not as bad as they appear over the past few games.

Some of the young guys have never had to play a strong brand of team defence. They have always played dominate offensive roles with teams that could win on the basis of offensive output. You can see the frustration of Babcock. Players are not listening to him because in their experience they have no real understanding about what it means to be outworked. Players with high skill usually win over hard work until you get to the NHL. Lots of high skill players never succeed because they are never able to master the importance of their defensive responsibilities.

They showed a clip of Marner not hustling back after a good rush. His man came back to score on the counter. But it is not just Marner who has to pay attention when Babcock talks about the need for hard work.
- spatso

Good post. Agreed on all points.

*checks to see if hell has frozen over*

yes, i notice Chabot did not play last night or game before
- spatso

Lower body injury, is what I've heard.

Lower body injury, is what I've heard.
- D0PPELGANGER

Liljegren with 5 points in 7 games.

Record for an 18 year old dman in the ahl is something like ~25 points.

Liljegren with 5 points in 7 games.

Record for an 18 year old dman in the ahl is something like ~25 points.
- Tumbleweed

Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that Canadian and American kids 18 years of age have never been allowed to play in the AHL. They either stick with their NHL team or they go back to their junior team. US college kids can't even come to training camp. Most European kids go back to their club teams.

Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that Canadian and American kids 18 years of age have never been allowed to play in the AHL. They either stick with their NHL team or they go back to their junior team. US college kids can't even come to training camp. Most European kids go back to their club teams.
- spatso

Best player still not in the nhl with 3 points in 5 games and -2; at 20 years old.

Liljegren +4.

Oh.

Best player still not in the nhl with 3 points in 5 games and -2; at 20 years old.

Liljegren +4.

Oh.
- Tumbleweed

i guess some of the lustre has come off the leafs. now you want to talk about prospects

Drake Batherson having huge start in the Q. Already has 17 goals.
- spatso

i guess some of the lustre has come off the sens. now i want to talk about prospects
- spatso

# 1 in blocked shots
# 2 in faceoffs
# 3 in penalty killing
# 5 offensively
# 8 defensively
# 17 on the power play